Accidental
Fraud Expert
Ann Fulmer's path to being a nationally recognized
mortgage fraud expert and fighter started over
10 years ago, when as a stay-at-home mom she
decided to find the reasons behind the spiraling
quality of her neighborhood.read story from the 11 Alive News

Man Denies
Mortgage Fraud
Gary Knox has filed a motion to dismiss the
charges he pleaded guilty to a year ago that
involved buying run down homes through his company
Central Illinois Management and Development
Co. and using inflated property values to obtain
loans for unwitting buyers interested in investing
in rental property.read story from the State Journal-Register

Mortgage
Insiders Fined for Alleged Fraud
After a three-month investigation by Illinois
regulators, over 12 outside real estate finance
individuals have been fined $5,000 to $25,000
for allegedly participating in a mortgage flipping
scam that duped cash-strapped elderly homeowners.read story from the Chicago Sun Times

May 7, 2007

AZ Eyeing
Escrow Officers
With five escrow officers being banned from
practice in Arizona this year, the state is
cracking down escrow officers involved in stealing
home-sale funds.read story from the Mohave Daily News

ID Theft,
Drugs and Foreclosure
Theresa M. Stanley-Morgan is being accused of
giving an elderly woman crack cocaine, without
her knowledge, to get her high and obtain a
credit card in her name. The elderly woman's
home, where Stanley-Morgan moved into, is now
in foreclosure.read story from St. Petersburg Times

Colo., GSEs
Fight Fraud
As part of an effort to help the Colorado Real
Estate Commission crack down on fraud, Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac have hired local independent
appraisers to help build a case against other
appraisers and real estate finance insiders
that may be involved in inflated appraisals.read story from Coloradoan

3 Accused
of Fraud
Officials have issued warrants for the arrests
of Mohamed A. "Mike" Mohamed, a property
buyer, Jeremy K. Virgin, an appraiser, and Karen
Axline, a clerk for a title agency, for allegedly
inflating property appraisals and sharing the
extra proceeds obtained through fraudulent mortgages.read story from The Columbus Dispatch

Fraudster
Faces Sentencing
Jason E. Branch Sr. has been convicted for a
series of schemes that involved pocketing the
advance money loan investors and even a church
paid for loans and lines he promised them but
never intended to provide.read story from Kansas City Business Journal

Fraud Legislation
Halts
Amid a broad range of abusive practices and
fraud being uncovered in Arizona, a bill that
spells out residential mortgage fraud is stuck
in the House after sailing through the Senate
and wings have been cut for a legislative effort
that tried to stop "mortgage rescue"
schemes.read story from The Arizona Republic

FL Seeks
to Criminalize Mortgage Fraud
A bill that would make mortgage fraud a crime
in Florida is on its way to the state governor
and, if signed, could take effect Oct. 1.read story from Yahoo! Finance

17 Flippers
Face Discipline
Mortgage originators, Illinois Mortgage Association,
Carteret Mortgage, New Family, Inc., and appraisers
and title agencies are among 17 businesses and
individuals who will face disciplinary action
for their involvement in a mortgage-flipping
scheme that targeted elderly cash-strapped homeowners.read story from Chicago Tribune

May 4, 2007

Mortgage
Co. Advises on Avoiding Fraud
National City provides free financial seminar
on budgeting, credit and identity theft at all
Southeast Michigan branches, 6-7 p.m. on Wednesday,
May 16, 2007.

Realtors
Seek Mortgage Fraud Probe
Sacramento realtors are seeking a criminal investigation
of the local mortgage industry after a news
channel uncovered how Jim Martin and his business
partners at VFM Investment Group falsified applications
to qualify investors for more than $9 million
in loans they could not afford.read story from KCRA 3

FBI Warns
of Cash-Backs
FBI officials warned consumers that it is illegal
to participate in cash-back deals, where a real
estate agent or buyer offers thousands more
than the asking price on a home that has been
on the market for a while under the agreement
that the seller gives back excess funds generated
from a mortgage obtained with an inflated appraisal.read story from Anchorage Daily News

Police Chief
Accused of Fraud
Joseph Woods, the Carver Bible College police
chief who leads a number of officers facing
criminal charges such as murder, is accused
of stealing the home of a deceased grandmother.read story from WSB-TV Atlanta

Mortgage
Fraud's Unsuspecting Victims
At a hearing, officials said home sales fraud
in Pennsylvania includes many mortgage borrowers
who never find out they are victims because
they never see the fraudulent alterations made
to their loan documents.read story from Pocono Record

Lawyer Admits
Mortgage Fraud
Ex-attorney Dennis Vourderis admitted stealing
more than $678,000 that came from mortgage borrowers'
checks that he would deposit into bank accounts
rather than sending to lenders.read story from Staten Island Advance